Focal 1037be's Amp Suggestions ???


I have Focal 1037be's and I'm pushing them with a BAT VK300x Integrated. My listening room is 24x26 with 10' ceilings. I believe I'm under powered with the Integrated. I'm looking for suggestions as to what amplification works for others with the 1037's. I would consider seperates as well. I guess budget $$$ would be 5-6k plus what I can get for the VK300x. Thank you in advance for your input.
zenieth
Zenieth:
What is the current problem(bass, sound stage, impact, etc)?

Have you ever tried any other amps?

While I like Focals pretty well; as a whole I think they lack scale (even some of there larger models). I listen to a lot of hard rock. I loved them for small jazz and softer stuff but throw some Metallica in and they come up a little short IMO. You could say I have a love / hate relationship with Focal speakers.

I guess my point is that if you are trying to open them up with more power it might be a moot point. They do some very nice things though. They have "real" detail (not hyper detail) and great mids. But large scale music is not their best type. I am not saying they sound bad just that there are speakers with larger scale at the same price point. As always it is a give/take relationship. With scale other assets that the focal do so well maybe lost.

I would not rush out and buy new speaker but 5 grand for "possible" returns is a lot. I would want a sure thing. If it were me, I would keep my amp sell the speaker (for $7,000) and buy a used pair of a different brand. If you really love focal you could sell you 1037be and buy a used pair of Altos (there is a pair on Audiogon for $10,000 right now). To me the Altos would be a bigger up grade than a "better" amp.
I don't think I'll ever really understand why a Watt isn't just a Watt, or at least, why one Watt sounds more powerful than another.

Going back some years, a dealer I was friendly with sold both JM Lab and BAT. I walked in one day and caught him demonstrating, to a prospective customer, how much more effortlessly the Mezzo Utopias played powered by a pair of BAT VK-60s in mono block(120W), than they sounded with the VK-300x. As I recall, there was no contest.
Phaelon, I thought more power would bring them to life. At low volumes they sound good. Crank them up and the sound just looses it's zeal.

James63, I guess the biggest problem is that the sound diminishes with volume. The soundstage has gotten better since I have moved them further apart. I use to run Maggie 3.6's with subs and a Spectron Musician amp. I had no problem filling my large listening area. I jumped back into the "addiction" hobby and went with the VK300x with a phono card and remote option. I wanted to try not buying seperate components. So here I am after the fact thinking I made a big mistake. I'm a rocker and I do some jazz once in a while. So what do I do to get the most from what I have?

I do thank all of you for your input. I am not any closer to resolving the problem. Do I go after more power? Buy a better speaker? Move the system to a smaller area? Gee, this isn't very easy!
"Phaelon, I thought more power would bring them to life. At low volumes they sound good. Crank them up and the sound just looses it's zeal."

Zenieth, that echos what I experienced with my speakers. I almost never listened to rock because of it. My new amps rock. If you like your speakers, don't lightly abandon them, give them what they crave - POWER!
Phaelon, I believe that's what the 1037's need. The big question is ..... what amp? Stay with BAT or shy away?